


baby your naked love (is what I'm dreaming of)

by fideliahoney



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, Fluff, Innuendo, M/M, Not literally, Ten is a demon, bath bombs, jaemin works at lush, jeno is uncomfortable, lip scrubs, lush!au, naked products, snsd and exo cameos, unnecessary inside knowledge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-06 04:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19054987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fideliahoney/pseuds/fideliahoney
Summary: Jaemin works at Lush and Jeno just wants to buy Renjun a present. He wasn't prepared to question his sexuality in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HI YALL <3 <3 <3 
> 
> sooo I have binge-watched pretty much all of nct dream's content in the last couple of weeks and finally surrendered to my urges to write something silly! it's not intended to be a serious character study, simply some self-indulgent and hopefully entertaining piece of fiction. please don't hesitate to point out spelling or major grammar mistakes since this is completely unbeta'd!
> 
> the story was inspired by a thought I had the other day: you know how everyone at lush is always super cheerful and excited to be your friend and they offer to help you with trying out the products a lot? that could totally be Jaemin. just think about it. he'd be so good at it!
> 
> (for those of you who don't know lush, they are a fully vegetarian/almost vegan company who sell fresh handmade cosmetics (it's their slogan lol) and put a lot of emphasis on using sustainable ingredients and minimizing waste. also they are very lgbtq+ friendly and reject any kind of discrimination. of course there are aspects that can and should be improved, but I actually like them a lot!)
> 
> quick disclaimer: none of the people and products mentioned are my intellectual property  
> title from adam lambert's song naked love, because I adore him
> 
> enjoy!! <3

As soon as he passes the glass doors leading into the colorful store, Jeno feels physically assaulted by a massive onslaught of _scent_. The stuffy air is saturated with the smell of candy, roses, lemons and fucking unicorns for all he knows. His sensitive nose tingles in warning and Jeno sneezes. Only once, hell yeah.

“Hi and welcome to Lush!” 

He is immediately greeted by the sunny voice of a woman approaching from the left side of the narrow shop floor with an equally sunny smile on her face. “Is there anything I can help you with already? You are sooo lucky, we have just restocked the Harajuku bath bombs today! My name is Sunny, by the way.” Jeno blinks. “Figures,” he deadpans, feeling totally out of his element and already regretting at least two of his most recent life choices. 

To be honest, getting Renjun a random present from Lush wasn’t even Jeno’s idea to begin with – Lucas suggested it, claiming that one of his best friends, Jungwoo, worked near Myeongdong station and repeating for about seven times how the products they sold were _freaking awesome_. If anyone deserved a freaking awesome present, that would definitely be Renjun. Between the three of them, entering University hit him the hardest, and he was constantly wearing himself thin to prove he was really worthy of being admitted into the fine arts department. Which is why, Jeno reminds himself, he is currently on the quest to find his friend something relaxing (like a bath bomb to help Renjun unwind or whatever, thank you, Lucas). 

Meanwhile, Sunny is still smiling at him expectantly and Jeno blushes, embarrassed about zoning out the way he just did. “Umm, thank you. I’m just browsing.” 

“Sure thing! If there’s anything you need, any questions whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to ask me or one of my colleagues. Enjoy your visit!” She graces him with a cute little wave and swiftly turns her attention to someone behind Jeno, red curls bouncing with energy. Is he really still standing dumbly in the doorway? No reason to panic, you’ve got this, _bath bombs_ , he reminds himself silently and walks a couple of steps further into the store. 

Jeno isn’t usually the type to get nervous in an unfamiliar environment. He actually considers himself to be a pretty chill and confident guy, happy with his looks, determined to do well in his studies (mechanical engineering, he just really likes cars, don’t judge) and always kind and attentive towards the people around him. It’s just that something about the bright colors and sickeningly sweet scent doesn’t sit well with him – and that’s not even mentioning the employees! Jeno can spot a petite guy, albeit very well styled and with a shit ton of piercings in his ear, animatedly praising a yellow substance that looks like… cheese? Judging by the enthusiastic reaction of the two girls in front of him it must either be fucking delicious or something else entirely. The guy then _melts some of it in his hand_ and starts applying it to the loose ends of the girl’s ponytail, and the three of them breaking into a full-on giggle fit. Nope, no cheese apparently. 

Jeno turns away with a confused frown. Where should he even start looking? If only Lucas had mentioned the overabundance of… _things_ , he would have looked up something online. A healthy skincare routine and regular purchases at Nature Republic did not prepare him for this shit show. He can’t even spot anything resembling bath bombs yet, so Jeno decides to approach a section that is labelled “Body Lotions” instead. This seems pretty straightforward, right? His attention is caught by a product that reminds him of the vanilla pudding his mum sometimes makes, but somehow upside down and without any packaging. Intrigued, Jeno moves to touch one of the small puddings (?) when his hand is stopped mid-air by someone circling his wrist with their fingers and gently placing it back on the bottom shelf. 

“If you are interested in our Little Pot of Energy, would you mind using the tester right here? It’s a great choice actually, being the only naked body lotion we sell at the moment and all.” 

“Naked…?” Jeno starts to respond, but his words immediately diffuse into an embarrassingly audible exhale because _holy shit_ , this has to be the most beautiful guy he has ever seen in his life (and he is friends with Renjun and Lucas, so that does count for something). He seems to be no older than Jeno, however a tiny bit taller, with peachy pink hair styled artfully over his forehead and dark, expressive eyes, slightly droopy, but in a really sexy way. His grin is equally as mesmerizing, stretching widely across his soft-looking face and showing off a straight line of astonishingly white teeth. Do his lips look a little dry? Yup, Jeno is totally checking out another guy’s lips. 

“Um.” He pauses. What were they just talking about? Something called… naked body lotion, but somehow Jeno feels unable to articulate the word _naked_ while simultaneously protecting his dignity under the beautiful guy’s intense gaze. “Umm, like, what do you mean by that?” he manages to ask in an unsteady voice.

“Oh, that’s what we call this type of product! Naked basically means that it’s packaging-free and keeps perfectly fine without preservatives. The Little Pot is also vegan, in case that is important to you.”

Vegan? Not really, Jeno thinks, quickly conjuring up the taste of pork belly in his mind, but in the same instant he also realizes that The Most Beautiful Guy He Has Ever Seen is still holding on to his wrist. Apparently he isn’t just beautiful, but also very perceptive, because he easily seems to sense Jeno’s lingering confusion. “Here, let me show you.” Without warning the guy turns Jeno’s wrist around, still firmly secured in his soft hold, pushes up the sleeve of his (favorite!) baby blue sweater and starts slowly sliding the tester along the expanse of Jeno’s inner forearm. 

Sensually. 

Is this part of their customer service?! Jeno blushes for the second time since entering the store and feels himself tensing up. As the beautiful guy puts the tester away, he smiles again, this time pretty much bordering on a smirk. “Now you can massage any remaining excess oils into your skin, just like this” – his thumbs are stroking Jeno’s forearm with strong, deft movements – “and you’re set! Just like a normal body lotion, but your body heat literally melts the product for you.” 

To say Jeno is feeling overwhelmed… sums up the situation pretty accurately. His forearm is glistening under the bright lamplights and everything kind of smells like lemon zest, which causes him to sneeze again and avoid the sales assistant’s eyes in embarrassment. “Um. Thanks,” Jeno states while staring at the tiled floor and surprisingly he feels himself missing the touch. _Say something, elaborate, explain why you are here!_ “Sorry, I feel like all the perfume in the air is messing up my head. I am actually looking for-“ 

“Essential oils.” 

Jeno’s eyebrows shoot up. “Excuse me?” 

“Essential oils,” the pink haired guy repeats in a sing-song voice, tinged with a hint of annoyance. “We hardly use perfumes and alcohol-based fragrances, what you are smelling is a combination of different essential oils. And before you ask, no, I don’t get a headache working here, and neither will you.”

What the hell? “I wasn’t going to ask,” Jeno mutters, feeling increasingly more intimidated, but also kind of impressed. He adds _well-informed_ to the list of this guy’s remarkable qualities, right behind _fucking gorgeous_ , _perceptive_ and _soft fingertips_. What even is his deal, being all beautiful, touching Jeno without asking for permission and then lecturing him about essential oils out of all things? The whole experience is just so _weird_ , and also about 23 meters outside of Jeno’s comfort zone, but this is not about him, he reminds himself. This is about doing something nice for Renjun, which is why Jeno meets the pretty dark eyes squarely and says, “I’m looking for a present, actually. Do you sell anything, like, for guys?” Whoops, no, that was the wrong thing to say, because Jeno definitely catches a twitch in the right eye. 

“I like to label all of our products as unisex, so it really depends on what this person likes individually.” 

The guy smiles through his explanation with a strain that suggests he has already repeated the same sentence over and over again. Jeno suddenly feels a little silly for falling back on gender stereotypes like that, but then he sees the soft features shifting into some kind of cocky grin, and ooohh wow he’s now _biting his lip_.

“Do you want to get something cute for your boyfriend?” 

Spluttering ensues, unsurprisingly from Jeno’s side of the conversation, and he quickly presses his lips together in a tight line and blushes again. That’s three times now, God damn. The other boy totally knows what he’s doing, still grinning and pushing his probably perfectly conditioned pink bangs up and off his forehead. How does this only make him look _more attractive_ and why does Jeno feel the need to clarify his relationship status? “Um. No. I don’t have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend.” 

“Sweet! I mean. You could totally be in a relationship, I bet you get confessions every week. Have you seen yourself? That face is a _menace_. Anyway, there is something I have in mind for you!” With an honest-to-God _wink_ the guy starts turning towards the back end of the shop, clearly expecting Jeno to follow him. 

They don’t make it very far. Petite piercing person (PPP, forgotten in the meantime) halts them in their steps, shooting Jeno a quick and also extremely scary smile, before he addresses his colleague. “Jaemin, would you mind helping Hyoyeon at the checkout?” Jaemin (!!that is his name!!) looks, for lack of a better word, sour. “Actually yes, Ten, I would mind, because I am literally in the middle of a fucking consultation right now?”

In this instant, Jeno becomes aware of two things: first, hearing Jaemin swear is kind of hot, and second, PPP must hold some sort of superior position. His eyes take on a dangerous glint (similar to his piercings, what the hell) and he adds in a sugary sweet voice: “Too bad, you know I only asked out of politeness anyway. Get your cute ass over there, prepare some samples and listen to what your loving trainee manager tells you to do, okay?” Jaemin’s eyes flit between Ten and Jeno for a second before settling on the former. 

“Wait, you can’t really do that.”

“I assure you that I can, nothing unprofessional about this at all. So would you please do your job at the checkout while I smoothly take over your consultation.”

Jaemin shoots his manager (…?) an incredulous glare before quickly bowing to Jeno in apology and shuffling over to the checkout. This has to be one of the weirdest exchanges, Jeno muses, that he has come to witness in a long time. Looking after Jaemin, another thought begins to worry him: just as he felt like he was getting closer to actually finding a suitable present for Renjun, piercing guy snatched him away and Jeno for the love of God sees no reason to trust him. Who smears melted cheese all over a customer’s hair and publicly calls himself _smooth_?

“All right, darling, tell me what you are looking for. No need to be scared.” 

The man, Ten, smiles at him with cold, calculating eyes and his entire posture contradicts the reassuring words he just uttered. Jeno gets the impression that he is being tested, however, he can’t seem to fathom how and why. Exhausted from his state of perpetually feeling out of place between strange colorful products and confusingly attractive people, Jeno decides to just roll with the hard facts. 

“Um. I need a present for a friend, he tends to isolate and overwork himself and I just want to get him something nice. There even is a bathtub in his apartment, so maybe, I don’t know, something relaxing? I have no idea what is going on in this shop, it’s really stressful, I’m just. Haha. Sorry.” 

He exhales deeply.

Ten seems to contemplate for a second, but if Jeno isn’t imagining things by now, he thinks his eyes have gone softer. “A present, huh. Don’t let this next question scare you, sweetie. How much are you willing to spend?” Jeno actually hasn’t thought about that, but Renjun means a lot to him, so he just shrugs and motions for Ten to continue. “Well, let me just tell you that we sell this totally suitable lavender-themed gift box named Relax, it contains a bath bomb with vanilla and skin softening cocoa butter, a reusable bubble bath that smells of lavender and rosemary and will leave you feeling like a little garden fairy, a liquid shower gel-“ 

Already zoning out, Jeno lifts his hands in defeat. Besides Ten’s obviously exaggerated praise, a lavender-themed gift box sounds pretty good (even though he doesn’t need Renjun to feel like a fairy, honestly what the hell). But Jeno remembers reading about the relaxing qualities of lavender in his last year of biology, so he ponders for a couple of seconds before deciding he really doesn’t know any better. “How much?” he asks. A wolfish grin takes over Ten’s features and he leans in close enough for Jeno to smell his minty breath. Then, as if the two of them were sharing an intimate secret, he whispers, “ _35 thousand Won_.” 

All in all, it could have gone worse, Jeno thinks to himself as he makes his way over to the checkout with a purple and orange gift box in his hands. Besides the stuff that Ten already mentioned, the gift also contains a small body lotion (packaged, not naked, Jeno notices and feels kind of accomplished) and he actually believes that Renjun will love it. To be honest he will probably throw a fit about how Jeno shouldn’t spoil him and stop spending his savings first, although he smiles at the thought. Renjun has never been very vocal about feelings like gratitude and appreciation, but after ten years of friendship, Jeno reads him like an open book. 

He focuses back on his surroundings. With the main objective achieved, Jeno allows himself to relax and the atmosphere suddenly seems to be a lot less suffocating. One might even call it pleasant, the buzz of happy customers and attentive employees in cute black aprons.

His eyes fall on Jaemin again, who is currently handing a small tin over to one of the three women still in line before Jeno with a genuine smile and a cheerful exclamation of, “I hope this helps, come back soon!” He really is radiant, charming the customers around him, joking with the woman behind the register and looking like he enjoys himself in the process. Then he looks up and their eyes lock. Jeno blushes for the fourth and hopefully last time upon being caught staring, and Jaemin’s initial look of surprise morphs into something a little more sultry. He whispers a few words to his colleague (Hyoyeon? Has Jeno seen her giving classes at his dance studio before?) and takes off to the second floor. If Jeno feels the slightest twinge of disappointment, he doesn’t dwell on it.

“Hi, did you find everything you need?” He nods and hands over two 20,000 Won bills with a tired smile. “That’s 5,000 Won back, let me just quickly remove the price tag for you and put it in a bag! There we go. We always give out a free sample with every purchase, Jaemin is already on the job for that, or would you like something in particular?” She works with a confidence and efficiency born from experience and Jeno, impressed, shakes his head. “No, I’m good, I’ll just take whatever or maybe I don’t even need a free sample, umm.” 

“Yeah you do!” says a voice behind him, and when Jeno turns around with his bag in hand, Jaemin is grinning at him knowingly and also a little out of breath. He looks cute from up close, too. “We call this a random act of kindness by the way, so yeah, I am super kind. Lush doesn’t usually give out bath bombs as samples, you know?” He walks behind the register to drop the pink orb into a small brown paper bag, before slipping another piece of paper inside and sealing the bag with a freshly printed tag. 

“On this tag you’ll find the ingredients, some extra information about how to use it and the name of the product. I hope you’ll like it, you made me think of this when I was looking at you earlier.” 

Jeno takes the small package from Jaemin’s hand and feels a tingling warmth where their fingers brush. “Thanks,” he says slowly, shy in a way he hasn’t felt in a long while. “No problem, and please come back soon, because I promise it gets less overwhelming with time!” Jeno, feeling caught, just nods again, but then Hyoyeon very pointedly clears her throat. “See ya, handsome!” Jaemin’s sing-song voice rings and he throws him another wink, before turning away to prepare a new round of samples from a substance that is almost as beautifully pink as his hair.

When Jeno finally exits the store and heads out into the busy pedestrian zone of Myeongdong (not without waving goodbye to Sunny of course), it is with less relief than he initially expected. Maybe he even feels a little regretful. He mentally thanks Lucas for the suggestion, then imagines kicking him in the shin for good measure, and starts his walk towards the subway station with a lingering scent of lemon zest surrounding him. On the ride home, his thoughts are filled with soft pink strands and broad smiles, and it is only when Jeno looks at the tag on his sample bath bomb that he blushes for the fifth time in one day. 

“What the hell, Jaemin!? _Sex Bomb_!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! 
> 
> I work as a part-timer at lush myself and have heard very similar questions from customers. at least once a day someone asks "is that edible" or "don't you get a headache working here" and I'm just like NO now geT OUT but the information given in this can actually be considered reliable haha
> 
> this is intended to have three chapters in total. the following will be Jaemin-centric and is already finished (like, his character deserves some more depth yall), while the final chapter will have nomin meeting again, but this time Jeno comes prepared. beware, yeorobun.
> 
> complete fic should be up by the end of next week.
> 
> comments and kudos are love!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! <3
> 
> thank you so much for the lovely response to the first chapter!! I am very grateful for each and every kudo and of course the enthusiastic reviews _made my day_
> 
> like I already said, this is centered around Jaemin and contains a little less dialogue, but Jeno will make his glorious comeback next chapter, so stay excited haha
> 
> I really hope you will like it either way! also I was listening to Exo's Gravity while editing and just need to mention that it's an amazing song, so go check it out~
> 
> now on with the story <3 enjoy!

“Care to tell me what exactly that was about?” Jaemin is currently glaring daggers at his _trainee manager_ in the back office slash staff room. About an hour ago, the imbecile in question successfully managed to humiliate Jaemin in front of the hottest guy he had spoken to all week. He must admit to himself that _hottest guy of the week_ is a moderately impressive title at best, but after six months of working at Lush, Jaemin decided to resort to a weekly ranking since he forgot about most of the pretty customers anyway. This guy though…

“Sorry, not listening to anything work related right now, I’m on my lunch break in case you haven’t already guessed from the obscene amount of hummus smeared all over my lips.” The crunching sound of a carrot being noisily chewed on drowns out Jaemin’s angry hiss. 

“Ten, you can hardly call this work related when you were being unprofessional as fuck fucking up my consultation like that!”

“Language, babe. And cut it with all the disrespect, I am technically still your boss. Can you blame me though? I had to witness you making bedroom eyes at overwhelmed straight boys at least six times today, my poor homosexual heart can only take so much. Stop flirting with unresponsive douchebags, seriously.”

“Pretty sure I’m not as bad as you on a late shift with Johnny,” Jaemin retorts and Ten chokes on his carrot, throwing his palm over his mouth to conceal the coughing, then quickly lifting his hand in front of his face again to stare at his hummus-covered fingers in disgust. Lol, thinks Jaemin. “Please don’t die. By the way, your weird protective urges were useless because I slipped him my number anyway.”

Ten moves to rise out of the comfortably battered office chair and Jaemin takes a step back, but instead of strangling him, Ten only makes his way over to the small restroom in the right corner of their back office. Figures that he would wash his hands after this. Trying to catch a glimpse of which sample soap his workmate decided on, Jaemin trails along (just like expected it is _Karma_ again, Ten’s favorite fragrance – he even regularly sprays himself with the matching perfume during work hours). Patchouli doesn’t really butter Jaemin’s eggroll, as he likes to put it. He considers himself to be more of a minty guy, usually going for _Dirty_ or _Smuggler’s Soul_ whenever it’s time for something a little more daring. Once he even tried _The Smell of Weather Turning_ in another store, but felt really guilty after realizing it wasn’t vegan. 

“I hope you understand I am only trying to help here,” Ten interrupts his thoughts and neatly folds the recycling paper towel before binning it. “To be fair, the boy just seemed genuinely confused and might not have been feeding his ego on your attention before turning to bitch to his friends about gay culture. I have experienced this before, stop rolling your eyes! Like I was going to say, he _was_ kind of cute, so I will let your flirtation slide without further admonition. Now let me finish my veggies in peace.” 

Jaemin rolls his eyes once more just to be annoying, but leaves the back office smiling. He really struck gold with his job, and especially his colleagues. There is Taeyeon, the _actual_ manager, who treats everyone with respect but still manages the store with a firm hand (and regular cleaning duties, ugh). Next in line are Ten, the manager in training, and Johnny, who holds the position of stock supervisor. Jaemin thinks he is a little scary, unapproachable but always friendly, and apparently he’s also really good at taking stock and estimating orders. Ten’s crush on Johnny is kind of an open secret, which is hilarious considering how bad Ten is at concealing his emotions, and everyone is still waiting for the inevitable showdown to finally happen. 

The rest of the team are just sales assistants like himself. Jaemin would call a few of them his friends (like Jungwoo or Hyoyeon noona and, let’s be real, also Ten) while with a couple of other colleagues he seems to be stuck at small talk level. (For example, there is this quiet guy named Sehun who barely interacts with anyone besides Johnny at all and makes Jaemin question on a daily basis why he even works a job that consists mostly of charming and touching people, wtf?) But in the grand scheme of things, Jaemin feels valid and accepted and the salary helps keeping his wallet happy and his apartment warm.

He spots two girls clumsily fiddling with the massage bar testers, so he approaches them, his trademark customer service smile already in place. 

“Hi, it seems like you’re interested in our _Pearl_ massage bar! Would you like me to explain it to you?” 

One of them has a cute bob haircut and wire frame glasses, while the other one rocks a bold red lip and long, caramel-colored hair in a loose braid. Red lip visibly flinches, startled by Jaemin’s sudden appearance, and her friend pats her shoulder in reassurance. Are they wearing matching adidas hoodies? Cute. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Jaemin cocks his head and tones the broadness of his grin down a little, the girls shaking their heads and apologizing. 

“If you don’t mind, please bare your forearm for me so I can show you how this is applied. Did you enjoy the scent or would you like to try a different one?”

“I like spicy things!” glasses girl says boldly and red lip giggles, so Jaemin grabs _Wiccy Magic Muscles_ instead and starts to slide it across her warm inner forearm. “This contains peppermint and cinnamon leaf oil, which actually boosts your blood circulation and helps to soothe sore muscles. I also think it’s great for back pain!” 

While he is talking, he rubs the product into the girl’s skin just as he was taught by Taeyeon weeks ago. It reminds Jaemin of the hot guy in the baby blue sweater again, who seemed so flustered upon being touched like this, and he can’t help a little snicker that luckily goes unnoticed by the girls. Okay, so maybe he had laid it on a little thick with him, moving his fingers slower than necessary and looking into his cute half-moon eyes, but he was allowed to have some fun! 

Jaemin sets the massage bar down and bids the girl to feel and smell her skin. She seems pleased and holds her wrist out, so red lip can also give an opinion. “I like it,” she says shyly, and Jaemin wonders if they are dating, but then remembers what he is supposed to offer. 

“If you want to purchase this, I can already put it in a paper bag for you while you have another look around?” 

The girls nod enthusiastically, and he winks at them before grabbing a fresh massage bar and walking towards the checkout to bag it. Sunny is currently manning the register, and Jaemin notices with a small sound of surprise that he knows the customer she is talking to in a suspiciously hushed voice.

His name is Baekhyun and he used to also work at their store last year while Jaemin was still part of the Christmas temporary staff, but quit all of a sudden on the first of January, handing in a sick certificate for the remaining month and never turning up again. This was actually the reason Jaemin was offered a permanent position on the team, so he should be thankful, but doesn’t really know what for. No one ever explained Baekhyun’s sudden disappearance to him, but rumor has it that he and Taeyeon used to date and broke up over a massive fight on New Year’s Eve. Then again, coming from Ten who is a sucker for gossip, this story could very well be all made up. 

“For fuck’s sake, Baekhyun, what you are asking for is _illegal!_ ” 

If Jaemin wasn’t intrigued before, he sure is now after hearing Sunny’s exasperated voice. Taking extra time to wrap up the massage bar, he tries to concentrate on their conversation (which, admittedly, is not very difficult because of the steadily increasing volume).

“Taeyeon is not even _in_ today, and who do you think will notice anyway!” Baekhyun hisses. Oh, so maybe the rumors are true after all? 

“For the last time, Baek, I can’t sell anything to _myself_ using _my own employee discount_! Unlike you, I care about my job, you punk. The answer is no.”

So. What exactly is going on? Jaemin’s eavesdropping is starting to become kind of obvious, and there really is no way for him to justify taking any more time to seal the paper bag. He reluctantly steps out from behind the register, keeping his head low and casually looking towards the shop windows, since he has no interest at all in getting caught up in their strange argument. Still-

“Hey, Jaemin.” 

Shit. That was Baekhyun’s voice. 

“You still work here?” 

Jaemin looks up at his former colleague and nods with a fake smile.

“Awesome. Nice, buddy! You probably took over my position, right? But no need to feel awkward about this, I just need your help right now. Or rather, your employee discount, because I am totally not about to pay a fucking 230,000 Won for this!”

“Umm.” Jaemin looks over to Sunny, who is pinching the bridge of her nose and slowly, with utmost precision, puts her hands down on the countertop. “Jaemin,” she smiles through her teeth. “Could you take over the register while I show my old friend to the door.”

“Sure thing,” he replies and precariously moves to take her position. Sunny then grabs a cussing Baekhyun by the arm and proceeds to physically drag him towards the exit. A small crowd has already assembled to witness the drama (okay, so by small crowd he might just be referring to three people, including the two girls, but it’s enough to make him feel embarrassed). Still, Jaemin is a professional, so he fixes his smile back in place and asks the girls to come forward so they can pay for their purchases. They even get three free samples to share, because he sometimes likes to play favorites amongst customers, sue him. 

Outside, Jaemin can still hear Sunny and Baekhyun yell at each other, and as he wraps up seven _Think Pink_ bath bombs for the next customer (wtf), he silently wonders whether this is what a break-up does to people. Robbing them of their ability to think rationally, turning them into angry, heartbroken idiots. He doesn’t even know what went down between Baekhyun and Taeyeon and still suddenly feels grateful for his single life. Everyone gets lonely sometimes and so does Jaemin, but at least he isn’t depending on anyone to the extent that their loss would leave him fucked up beyond repair. (Maybe Donghyuck, but they’re best friends, so they won’t break up like a couple would.) As he waves goodbye to the last customer in line, Jaemin realizes with a contented sigh that his shift officially ended three minutes ago.

This time the back office is empty, Ten’s half-eaten package of hummus still on the desk, and Jaemin flops down onto the office chair. Somehow, today was pretty exhausting, and there is a 35-minute subway ride back to his apartment still awaiting him. He takes a quick look around and then sticks his finger into the package to cover it in about a tablespoon of hummus. _Nice_. Jaemin licks his finger while changing out of his apron (which is as impractical as it sounds) and into his beige trenchcoat, a favorite piece he found at the women’s section two years ago, before grabbing his backpack and stepping out into the shop again. 

Ten almost bumps into him, but manages an elegant sidestep at the last second. “Oh my, I did not see you there! Wow, you look like a snack though. Are you mad at me for what I said earlier?”

“No, of course not!” Jaemin is taken by surprise at Ten’s apology, then a mischievous smirk forms on his face. “But next time you are flirting with a cute customer, I will totally tell him about that time you had to reapply _Rump_ every twenty minutes because your ass was-“

“NOPE NOPE NOPE not talking about that EVER AGAIN and aren’t you off for today anyway, you little piece of shit?” Ten slaps his butt and Jaemin cackles, waving goodbye to Hyoyeon and Sunny and high-fiving Jungwoo at the door who just came in to start the closing shift. He grins all the way to the subway station and pops his headphones in as soon as his body hits the back of the seat. 

On the opposite side of the wagon facing Jaemin is an advertisement for the Bank of Korea. It shows a Korean couple, the classically handsome man wearing a light blue suit and the woman, who is holding on to his arm cutely, is dressed in a white blouse and skirt. Both of them are smiling brightly, and of course their teeth are also perfect and they look like they don’t have a care in the world, blah blah. Upon closer investigation, Jaemin figures out that the bank is basically promoting loans for young married couples wishing for children, so that the husband can pursue his career and his wife is able to care for the kids without having to worry about additional income. He feels his mood beginning to sour. 

Of course there is nothing wrong with supporting young parents, it’s just… If this was about a homosexual couple, or maybe just a progressive heterosexual marriage in which the woman wanted to pursue her career instead, Jaemin highly doubts the Bank of Korea would be as supportive as they’re making themselves out to be. He identifies as a gay man, and even though his Korean age is still only 19, he has never been insecure about his sexuality. 

What Jaemin is insecure about instead is his future. He’s good at a couple of things, like dancing and sports in general, playing the piano, and his high school grades were also pretty decent. The problem is that he’s not _great_ at anything. He knows how to move his body, but after going out with Ten to a gay bar once he decided to never even attempt getting into dance. This guy _has no bones_. 

So now Jaemin is kind of just earning some money and waiting for Donghyuck to graduate in summer. Donghyuck, who has the voice of a fucking angel, and is going to study music even though he was lazy enough in high school to have to retake his final year (a fact that Jaemin will forever make fun of). Donghyuck is going to study music and Jaemin is going to apply to the same university to just study… something. 

He drops his head in his hands, then lifts it back up to glare at the sucky advertisement. Fuck heteronormativity and fuck gender stereotypes. Jaemin’s reflection in the window right next to the ad seems to be mocking it, all pink hair and distraught face, a “GO VEGAN” button pinned to his backpack. If there was a degree in _being social_ , Jaemin would surely excel at it. But there isn’t, so he will probably end up in something like business administration – maybe he could go back to Lush afterwards, because then at least he won’t have to worry about his sexuality and style choices being an issue.

Jaemin gets off at the next stop and decides to call his mum while walking to his small apartment.

His parents were supportive of his decision to take a year off instead of jumping straight into university without actually knowing what to do, but they still encouraged him to get his own place to _learn about independence_. Jaemin was skeptical at first, but now he actually likes his apartment, and living alone has its perks. His old room at home is rented out to a Japanese exchange student named Yuta, who is hilarious, and his parents transfer the rent money to Jaemin’s bank account every month. Combined with his monthly salary from Lush, he has enough to pay for food, his own rent and even to go out sometimes or buy a pair of sneakers. 

She picks up after the fourth ring. 

“Hi, mum!” Jaemin greets and already feels his smile returning. They talk about his stressful day at the shop for a while, then his mum tells him about her most recent struggles at school. She works as a primary school teacher and is also in charge of the afternoon Japanese club (sometimes Yuta shows her anime and helps prepare exercises, and apparently it’s the cutest thing). A month ago she found an online article about a guy who reads books to children while in drag, wishing to gently sensitize Korean people to LGBTQ culture from a young age. Of course his mum immediately contacted him and now they are planning to open a new after school reading club, but the headmaster seems to need a little more convincing. Meaning _a lot_ more. 

Jaemin wishes her good luck for the upcoming teacher’s meeting and asks her to say hi to Yuta and his dad just as he unlocks the door to his apartment building. They say goodbye and Jaemin makes some disgusting smooching noises before hanging up with a grin. 

His parents really are the best. Sometimes he feels a little guilty because even though they have brought him up to be confident in his abilities and personality, he still feels insecure about a lot of things. But none of that for tonight, Jaemin muses, and shuts his apartment door to the stressful outside world.

Taking a look around his single room, something akin to pride swells in his chest. Sure, it’s small; a lime green kitchenette in one corner, a cozy double mattress under the window, right next to a tiny desk slash table and two torn leather armchairs from his dad. But he also owns a small TV, there is a huge closet built into the wall, and he even has his own bathroom. No tub, only a shower, and yet life could be a lot worse. 

As Jaemin starts up the kettle for some instant ramen, he pulls out his phone again. Has the cute awkward guy with the half-moon eyes and baby blue sweater found his number yet? Is he even going to text him? Jaemin sure hopes so, because he somehow knows that baby blue and lime green would clash beautifully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _sneaky Jaemin is totally waiting for Jeno to find his number and text him asap_
> 
>  
> 
> fun fact, the employee discount at lush is 50% on most products, poor Baekhyun lol. the drag guy reading children's books is by the way also real, he used to be a store manager in Seoul and became friends with my old manager, but then according to her quit his job to focus on his work in the LGBTQ+ community. some people are truly inspirational! 
> 
> who else is excited for Jeno's comeback haha, next (and final) chapter will be up by the end of the week!
> 
> thank you for reading <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeeeeeeeeeeeeees finally here we go, without further ado I present to you the last chapter!
> 
> enjoy! <3

Exactly nine days have passed since that fateful Friday afternoon Jeno first set foot into the wicked mystery kingdom of Lush Myeongdong Station. It took him about 48 hours to process the whole experience, and by the end of his reflective period, he was left with the knowledge that 1) their shit really smelled fantastic and 2) he was still thinking about Jaemin from time to time. 

For example, the Monday after, Jeno tried to analyze a European renaissance painting in the weird art history elective he attended together with Renjun. While his friend immediately went off about the unusual composition, the first thought on Jeno’s mind was how the expertly painted hands didn’t look as soft as Jaemin’s. This should have been alarming in itself, but then Jeno kind of forgot about it again until he thought he saw Jaemin on the advert for _Lotte Sugar Free Chewing Candy_. Or turned his head whenever someone with pink hair walked past. Or had a dream in which they randomly met on campus and he offered to buy the other boy coffee. 

…okay, so it was pretty bad.

Now, nine days later, Jeno still hasn’t told any of his friends about his unexpected… infatuation? _Crush_? Honestly he is just worried that they won’t take him seriously, because he never mentioned any guy crushes before. And it’s not like he knows how to explain it himself, Jaemin just kind of keeps popping up in his head. 

Thinking about it, he wouldn’t be the first point of contact between his friend group and what he likes to label as _gay thoughts_. Jeno is positive that Renjun has casually dated both guys and girls in high school, and either way would never judge anyone based on their sexual preference. About Lucas’ reaction he is less sure – despite his usually good intentions, he can be a little insensitive at times. But then again, Lucas is friends with Jungwoo of all people, literally the gayest and most sexually confident guy Jeno has met. So there really is no reason to stress about his friends at all, he reassures himself, just as his phone announces a voice message from Renjun.

He presses play. 

“Lee Jeno, light of my life and bane of my existence! I have just” – splashing noises – “oh shit, well, I have just taken a bubble bath and I swear my skin feels like the finest silk? I’ll probably finish my research assignment by tonight, so hit me up if you wanna go out for drinks later. This sounds slutty as hell, but I feel like people need to… touch me, you know? Yeah, I really said this out loud... Don’t laugh! Fuck you, Sicheng! Anyway Jeno, text me.”

Some muted swearing in Chinese follows and by the time the voice message ends, Jeno is snorting from laughing so hard. Most people perceive Renjun as an intelligent and innocent guy at first, but he’s got quite the mouth on him once you get to know him better. Still intelligent, but he mostly uses his brains to come up with snarky sarcastic comments. 

Another notification appears on his screen.

(13:34) Injun: sicheng just touched me all over, i am in shock, like you know how basically no one is allowed to touch him  
(13:34) Injun: he told me my skin is really soft. i wish i lived alone

(13:35) Injun: he’s right tho lol

Jeno grins and mentally congratulates Renjun’s roommate for being unpredictable. Then he remembers with a flush of heat to his cheeks that he still hasn’t opened his own sample bath bomb. Might as well get it over with now – at least Renjun made use of his present, even sounding impressed on top of that, and his opinion is usually very honest and reliable.

Walking over to the small basket where he keeps his skincare and personal hygiene products, Jeno regrets once more that he has to use the communal bathrooms down the hallway. (He inhabits a single room in a dorm near campus, but sometimes bribes Renjun with hotpot into letting him use the bathtub at his apartment). The package lies there untouched, about the size of his fist and unmistakably smelling of roses. With a resigned sigh, Jeno gently pulls off the tag (ignoring the bold print of _Sex Bomb_ ) and takes a look at the product again. It’s pink all right, with some rose petals embedded in the purple top part, and at the bottom of the paper bag he sees another small slip of paper with some messy handwriting on it. 

Did Jaemin…? No, that couldn’t be? His fingers shake slightly as he extracts the note from the package.

_Text me, sexy~_ followed by a freaking _phone number_.

Jeno facepalms and simultaneously feels his impending gay crisis drawing nearer at the speed of light. What the actual fuck? Who even _does_ things like this nowadays? Then he realizes that hot, confident Jaemin slipped him his number and it took him a whole of _nine days_ to notice, which somehow makes the situation even worse.

Panicked, he calls Renjun.

“Sup.”

“Um. Renjun.”

“The one and only.”

“Yeah. Um.”

Renjun sighs. “What’s up, Jeno? If you’re calling me to get drinks already, the answer is no, because I’m still doing my research while smelling of lavender.”

“No, that’s not it.”

How is Jeno supposed to explain that he met a cute guy(!) last week, with a smile he couldn’t stop thinking about, and just figured out after nine days that he had his number all along? Does Jeno even want to text him, and if he did, wouldn’t he appear like the absolute _lamest_ by now?

Another sigh from the other end of the line, this time slightly annoyed. “Then spill, because I would really like to get this assignment over with.”

“Okay, so. Please don’t laugh, this is kinda hard for me. Basically, there was a cute guy at Lush last week and I’ve been kind of thinking about him a bit and ummm, just realized that he slipped me his number. Nine days ago. Like, help?”

Silence. Then, “It’s not Jungwoo, right?”

“What the hell? No, it’s not! Besides, I have Jungwoo’s number. Renjun, I’m serious. His name is Jaemin and I had a dream about him in which I deadass said _will you let me buy you a double espresso_.”

He can hear Renjun muffling his snicker before he replies in a level voice. “Jeno, you are the lamest person to have ever walked this earth. I mean, it’s kind of _bohemian_ that you are expanding your romantic horizon towards same sex partners, and I fully support you in every possibly way. But, like, please don’t text him something along the lines of _sorry I just found your number_. That would be a major turn-off.”

“Yeah well, thanks.” He exhales slowly. “But how do I handle this? To, you know, show him I am not actually always lame.”

“I’m gathering from this that you do want to see him again?”

Apparently Jeno missed the point in conversation where this stopped being a question, but he feels sure of wanting to meet Jaemin again, so he nods. Then remembers they are on the phone.

“Um, yeah.” 

“That’s cute, I don’t know what you’re worried about then. Turn up your disarming Jeno honesty, be charming about it. If you had a fucking dream about treating this guy to coffee, then maybe check their website for coffee related products, make use of your wits and ask him out next week! My gay experience is still limited, but I can assure you that a guy appreciates someone making an effort as much as any girl would.”

Jeno is silent for a minute, processing the words of his friend. This actually seems like solid advice. 

“…thanks, Renjun. Umm, for real. You’re so damn cheesy, but I think I’ll look into it. And also thanks for not being weird about me, well, crushing on a guy.”

“Don’t even mention it. The arts department is really sensitizing me to this shit, so many intelligent and beautiful men surrounding me every day. And also, keep me updated, because I do find this hilarious and you will be lame no matter what. Love you.” And with this, Renjun hangs up.

On Jeno’s laptop screen, the google front page is still glowing innocently from his half-assed attempt at looking up Italian painters of the 16th century. Instead, he now types in _lush store_ with only minimal hesitation and clicks on the first suggested website. The screen immediately explodes into pastel colors and the memory of his overwhelming visit returns full-force – but unlike last time, Jeno is now situated in the safety of his own room with all the time he needs to thoroughly educate himself. _Let’s get this_.

He clicks on the products tag, which is then divided into further sub-categories. Bath bombs he already knows, and a small satisfied smile starts to bloom across his face. Next up are shower gels and… jellies? Well, today is the day to finally overcome his confusion and impress Jaemin, so Jeno selects the shower section with determination. Jellies appear to be some kind of jelly-textured soap, which makes sense thinking about it, but is still pretty weird. The shower gels are basic in comparison, but then there is also something called _shower bombs_. Encouraged, Jeno clicks on a shower bomb named _Tantric Energy_ and starts skimming the description. 

What. The fuck.

_Cup the shower bomb in your hands and move it gently under the running water for just a second, simply to get it wet. Pull it away and allow the floral foam to stir, while the sensually-charged aroma starts to stimulate your senses. Move it in a touch, and pull it out again, in and out, in and out, all the while you ride the wave of anticipation, as the foam swells ever larger_.

Jeno averts his eyes, second-hand embarrassment hitting him hard. Do these people seriously have no shame!? Bracing himself, he takes another look at the description and it really only goes downhill from here. Suddenly he imagines Jaemin explaining the product to him and he can vividly picture the mischievous sparkle in the other boy’s eyes, his flirtatious smile, as he shows Jeno just _how wet_ it needs to be to – 

Whoah, whoah, stop yourself _right there_ , Lee Jeno. He feels hot under his collar and helplessly facepalms again. Then, he notices a small black and white sign next to the uncomfortably sexual description, which says “Liverpool Shop Exclusive”. Jaemin definitely works in Myeongdong, not in Liverpool, so unless he knows their entire website by heart, there is a small chance that he hasn’t heard of the wonders of _Tantric Energy_ yet… An idea begins to form in Jeno’s mind. 

“Two can play this game,” he mutters to himself, and with newfound confidence sends a text to Jungwoo.

(15:11) Jeno: hey, do you know when jaemin is working next week?

___

Jungwoo, being the sweetheart he is, attached the entire team’s shift schedule to his reply. Turns out Jaemin is working Tuesday afternoon (luckily without a very curious Jungwoo), which is perfect, because Jeno’s classes also end around 3pm. 

Right now he is waiting just a couple of meters away from the entrance, checking his reflection in the window of the neighboring _Superdry_ store. He looks good in his favorite skinny jeans, downward striped button-down and leather jacket – his black hair is styled in an almost-middle parting and the top button of his shirt is undone, because Jeno dressed to impress today. He hopes he will.

Steeling himself, he strides the final steps towards his destination with purpose. An intimidatingly tall guy with broad shoulders and strong eyebrows offers him a tight-lipped smile upon his entrance and says with the slightest lisp, “Welcome to Lush, please enjoy your stay.”

This is now familiar territory, so Jeno nods amiably. “Thank you. I’ll have a look around on my own first.”

The employee just blinks in response and Jeno takes in the surroundings for a second time, suddenly remembering how Jaemin reassured him that it would “get less overwhelming” if he came around more often. He was apparently right, but that might also have something to do with Jeno’s excessive research at home. Either way, Jeno is feeling pretty confident at the moment, already scanning the shelves for products he saw online. 

That is, until his gaze falls upon Jaemin at the back end of the store.

He is wearing a black and white striped turtleneck that is just the right kind of tight to accentuate his broad but lean frame, and somehow his apron is rolled up from the bottom to reveal slits of tan skin through the excessive rips in his black jeans. Of fucking course his slightly faded pink hair looks artfully tousled, like a gust of wind just decided to leave him even more breathtakingly beautiful than before, and as he smiles at his current customer, a golden reflection on his face catches Jeno’s eye. Did Jaemin get a _nose ring_?

Jeno physically feels the confidence seeping out of his own body, before he reminds himself that it was Jaemin who slipped him his number in the first place, so he must have done something right. But Jeno is not planning on letting him know he found the note. He has other plans, and prays that he won’t make a complete fool of himself today.

As soon as Jaemin sends the woman off to the checkout, Jeno takes a deliberate step in his direction. Jaemin puts a tester away, then turns around and they lock eyes. Recognition flickers over his features and if Jeno wasn’t so focused on the other boy, he would have missed the way he's freezing up for the fraction of a second. 

“Hi,” Jeno greets the protagonist of his latest dreams eloquently.

“Hey,” Jaemin replies with a somewhat guarded smile. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, actually. I don’t know if you remember, I was here like two weeks ago. You gave me a bath bomb as a sample.”

“I remember that. Have you… opened it?”

The underlying question is obvious, and Jeno shakes his head. 

“No, not yet. I don’t have a bathtub in my apartment.” He licks his lips and lifts his gaze to see Jaemin visibly relaxing his posture. “But you were so kind and attentive last time, so I checked the website and found out that you also sell something like bath bombs for the shower?”

“Aww, you came back because of me? That is so flattering, honestly.” Jaemin looks pleased. “What you’re looking for is called a shower bomb, let me show you! By the way, may I ask your name?”

_You are what I’m looking for_ , Jeno thinks, but he simply says “Jeno” instead.

“Sweet. I’m Jaemin. It’s really nice to see you again, Jeno.” 

Jaemin is shamelessly giving him a once-over and judging by the way his eyes flicker with interest, Jeno’s fashion choices seem to be a perfect success. His confidence returns slowly. 

“Well, follow me!” Jaemin invites with a smirk and turns right, providing Jeno with a full view of his stunning side profile. There really is a delicate golden ring adorning his nose and Jeno kind of wants to touch it, but contains himself and instead follows Jaemin to the shower section. On a wooden board, he can already spot an arrangement of four different shower bombs with no _Tantric Energy_ to be seen. Jaemin picks up a yellow and a white one, both looking like smaller, more powdery versions of bath bombs. 

“The yellow one here is called _Not Sleepy_ , because it contains uplifting neroli and lemongrass oil, and its white counterpart is _Sleepy_ , full of soothing lavender and tonka absolute. They are my favorites.” 

He is back in full sales assistant mode, grinning his 1000-Watt smile, and Jeno feels the slightest flutter in his stomach at the sight, but then shakes his head.

“No, that’s not the one I meant. It was purple, I think.”

“Purple?” A puzzled expression washes over Jaemin’s face, before he grabs a baby blue shower bomb and lifts it up for Jeno to smell. “This one maybe? The name is really hard to pronounce, but I think it smells nice. Better than _Karma_ at least.”

Jeno shakes his head again. 

“No, sorry. Maybe it would help if I read the product description to you? I have a screenshot saved on my phone somewhere.”

“Yeah, sure! That’s really thoughtful,” Jaemin replies with an encouraging smile while Jeno pulls out his phone.

“Um, yeah, found it. It says that the product _offers up luxurious jasmine absolute, one of the sexiest essential oils on the planet, with a kick of ginger oil to help relax the mood and get the blood pumping_.”

When Jeno looks up with a slight blush (because this is embarrassing as hell), he can make out a mixture of amusement, confusion and something a little darker in Jaemin’s eyes.

“…excuse me? I don’t think I have heard of this product before.”

“I’ll continue reading then, you might remember. Well, umm, _tease it back and forth, the ginseng will keep you going and going, and only when the mound threatens to overflow do you give into the… into the climax, scooping and spreading the silky soft suds all over your skin, eagerly caressing your body with the mystery that oakmoss absolute brings_.”

Jeno is a little out of breath by the time he finally finishes (no pun intended), his tongue darting out to lick across his suddenly very dry lips again. He doesn’t dare meet Jaemin’s eyes yet, but the other boy grabs his hand and gently twists the phone out of his grasp. Jeno’s skin burns at the touch, and he mumbles, “It’s called _Tantric Energy_.”

“I can read that. Sorry, we don’t sell it here.”

Jaemin’s voice is closer than before, slightly lowered and rough around the edges. He places the back side of the phone directly underneath Jeno’s chin and lifts his face up like that, before dropping the device into his outstretched hands. Jaemin does look a little flustered, but still somehow in control of the situation. Jeno swallows.

“So you’re telling me you came back all the way to ask me about a shower bomb that was inspired by tantric sex.”

“Um. Yeah.”

“That’s hot as hell.”

Jeno can’t help the relieved grin that is starting to split his face. “Well, yeah. But since you apparently don’t sell it, is there anything else you can recommend?”

“There’s a couple of things I can think of right now”, Jaemin replies with dancing eyes. He reaches out and loosely grabs Jeno’s wrist, pulling him towards the staircase. “We have more stuff upstairs, mainly facecare and shit for the bathtub. Also, there are less people around.”

The implication is definitely there, but Jeno isn’t sure what this means exactly. When they reach the upper floor of the shop, devoid of customers, the other boy still hasn’t let go of his wrist and Jeno feels kind of tingly.

“Bath bombs are over there, but since you can’t use them anyway, check this out.”

Jaemin points towards a set of little glass vessels that appear to be containing something like colorful sugar. Jeno reaches out to touch, but Jaemin quickly releases his wrist to swat at his hand instead.

“Don’t just stick your fingers in, oh my God, show some restraint!” He winks and Jeno knows his face is instantly heating up. Why does everything Jaemin says have to be laced with innuendo!?

“You show me how to do it, then.” His own voice is kind of breathy, and it would be embarrassing, but he notices the effect it has on Jaemin – his eyes are drawn to Jeno’s lips and he exhales audibly.

“Well,” Jaemin purrs, grabbing a thin white spatula and maneuvering a small amount of the sugary mixture out of the vessel and into his open palm. “This is called a lip scrub, basically it’s sugar mixed with jojoba oil and flavor. You apply it to your lips like this.” 

Dipping his finger into his palm, Jaemin smirks and then proceeds to scrub his sugar-coated fingertip across his lips. Jeno watches, mesmerized, as they turn shiny and start to redden because of the friction. The sight is downright erotic, and he’s suddenly glad that they are alone up here. His gaze snaps back up to Jaemin’s eyes as the other boy speaks again in a lowered voice.

“I was greedy and took a little too much. Here, lemme.”

Jaemin scoops up the rest of the lip scrub with his finger and gently cups Jeno’s jaw with his now empty hand, holding him firmly in place. The sensation of Jaemin’s finger on his lips should have been expected in some way, but the intimate touch combined with the sugary sweet taste is still utterly overwhelming. Jeno feels his mouth go slack, the plumpness of his lower lip giving way under the gentle press of soft fingertips, even softer that he remembers. 

Reluctantly, Jaemin pulls away. “Try it yourself?”

Jeno nods, stunned. On the spur of the moment, he lifts his thumb up to brush across Jaemin’s lower lip instead of scrubbing his own. The other boy’s eyes widen in surprise, then his gaze turns half-lidded and he pokes his tongue out to lick Jeno’s thumb before shamelessly sucking it into his mouth.

“Oh my God,” Jeno breathes, extracting the digit with a wet pop. He never tried this before, and the realization of finding someone sucking on his finger arousing is super weird and super hot. He feels light-headed, but doesn’t want to stop touching Jaemin, so he carefully traces the other boy’s cheekbone towards his nose, halting just half an inch short of his piercing.

“Um, how long until you get off your shift today?” 

“Approximately seven minutes. Do you like the nose ring?” 

Jeno hums in affirmation and Jaemin smiles coyly.

“You can touch it, it’s fake. I might get a real one as soon as I know where I actually want to work later. Will you kiss me now?”

A small laugh bubbles up Jeno’s throat and he closes his eyes, everything about the situation happening too fast and too slow at the same time. They have already gravitated towards each other involuntarily, so it doesn’t take much to close the distance and bump their foreheads together.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin whispers. “A lot. You’re so hot, and so awkward, and I had a dream in which you came back and I kissed you.”

“Do it then,” Jeno demands, and Jaemin does.

He tastes of sugar and mint, chapped lips soft, breath warm and promising, and smiles into the kiss as Jeno moves to card his fingers through the pink strands at the back of Jaemin’s neck. Kissing a guy is not so different from kissing a girl, Jeno muses while they move against each other. It’s the same push and pull, the same intoxicating closeness, lines between two bodies blurred and replaced by heat. He wonders then whether Jaemin feels it, too – an odd sense of belonging seeping into his bones, as if they were pledging loyalty to each other in every languid press of lips. Jeno’s earlier insecurities seem so inconsequential now, and as he pulls away to look at Jaemin again, he sees a matching wonder in his eyes and a faint blush still coloring his cheeks. 

“Stop staring,” Jaemin mumbles and averts his eyes, then pulls Jeno in by his belt loops, their hipbones brushing through the fabric of their jeans. “Who even kisses someone like this for the first time? I’m not practiced at intense romantic shit.”

Jeno snorts, and the spell is broken. “I’m not practiced at intense romantic shit either, but I would really like the opportunity to practice some more. Um, with you, if you’d be down for that.”

“Oh my _God_ , shut up!” Jaemin pushes him away now, but Jeno can see that he is fighting a grin. “And how exactly are you imagining this? Will you come pick me up from work again tomorrow? Or treat me for coffee? Maybe invite yourself over to my place and sit on my kitchen counter in your cute little sweater?”

Jeno blinks. Weirdly specific, though definitely not uninviting. Then he looks back at Jaemin, lips glistening, his pink hair catching the artificial light with more grace than any idol Jeno has ever seen on screen. But he’s _real_ , and for some reason imagining a tomorrow with Jaemin doesn’t seem hard at all. Jeno feels giddy, his chest brimming with warmth and excitement, and he knows his eyes have already formed little crescents like they always do when he is genuinely happy.

“All of those things, if you’d like that, but maybe one step at a time. I think seven minutes are up, and coffee sounds pretty good to me. It’s funny by the way, I had a dream about you, too.” 

Jaemin’s answering smile is impossibly brighter than any rainbow colored bath bomb could ever be. It feels simultaneously like closure and the tender prospect of a new beginning when Jeno shyly links their pinkies together, looking at Jaemin with an earnest expression.

“Will you let me buy you a double espresso?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, thank you SO MUCH for reading until the end.
> 
> I also want to stress how much every reaction so far has encouraged me to see this through! admittedly it's not a huge or very complex fic, but somehow a silly idea turned into 10k of self-indulgence lol
> 
> (also I just wanted nomin to make out in the empty shop but then I imagined them feeling this _inkling_ , like there was simple attraction at the start but they can already sense the future impact of their encounter and get all intense about it, gah)
> 
> in case you are wondering, tantric energy is indeed a real product and I didn't come up with the description, lush did. what the hell.
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are love <3
> 
> thank you everyone and take care~


End file.
